Wizard of Oz’ animal trainer sheds light on plight of rescue dogs

Two of Bill Berloni's rescue dogs will be coming to town to star as Toto in the North Shore Music Theatre’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.” The 23 animals Berloni lives with on their Connecticut farm include “six Sandy dogs, four Toto dogs and three ‘Legally Blonde’ dogs," all of whom he rescued from shelters.

By Theresa DeFranzo / northshore@wickedlocal.com

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Theresa DeFranzo / northshore@wickedlocal.com

Posted Jul. 11, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 11, 2013 at 11:11 AM

By Theresa DeFranzo / northshore@wickedlocal.com

Posted Jul. 11, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jul 11, 2013 at 11:11 AM

Beverly

» Social News

Many years ago, Bill Berloni cut a deal with a theater producer that changed his life.

Berloni, an aspiring actor, was working as a technical apprentice at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut. The theater was producing a new musical based on the comic strip “Little Orphan Annie,” and the producer needed someone to find and train the dog Sandy for the show.

The deal? The show’s producer would give Berloni an acting part in one of his productions so he could earn his equity union card in exchange for finding and training their Sandy.

“I adopted a $7 dog from the Connecticut Humane Society and trained the dog as a I did my own dogs,” said Berloni, who grew up on a farm in Connecticut.

When the show was over, Berloni had a new best friend and a new career. He went to New York to study acting at New York University, bringing Sandy along. When he heard that award-winning producer Mike Nichols was looking for a Sandy for “Annie” when it arrived on Broadway, Berloni said, “I dropped out of NYU to work with Sandy. I wanted to work with Mike Nichols. That show was a huge success and it changed my life.”

That was 1977. Since that time, Berloni and his handlers “have provided animals of all species and sizes, found in shelters, humane societies or rescue leagues, for Broadway, off-Broadway, national tours, regional theatres, special events, the New York City Ballet, motion pictures, television and commercials,” according to the William Berloni Theatrical Animals website. When their careers are over, the animals return to Berloni’s Connecticut farm.

Two of his animals will be starring as Toto in the North Shore Music Theatre’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.” Today, the 23 animals who live with Berloni, his wife and daughter on their Connecticut farm include “six Sandy dogs, four Toto dogs and three ‘Legally Blonde’ dogs,” said Berloni.

Nigel and Loki are the pooches coming to the NSMT, with Loki as the understudy.

When the dogs are done working here, they will go home for a bit, and then they are off to Toronto to work with Andrew Lloyd Webber on his new production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

Berloni has at any time four to six handlers who work with him and travel with the animals to the various theaters where they are performing. His job, he said, “is sitting down with the writer and the director and working with them. Once all that is done, I can put a handler in and start working on the next show.”

In 2011, Berloni’s passion for training rescue dogs was recognized: He was the 2011 Tony’s Honor Recipient for Excellence in Theatre “in recognition of his extraordinary dedication to training rescued animals for the stage, with abundant creativity and exemplifying the highest principles of humane behavior.”

Page 2 of 3 - “I was just so glad that they recognized that animals are performers,” Berloni said. It’s quite clear they are much more than that to him and his family.

Before his visit to the shelter in Connecticut, he had never been to a shelter before.

“I was profoundly affected by what I saw,” he said.

“It’s not about taking them out of a shelter, exploiting them for money and then dumping them after the show,” Berloni pointed out. “They are like a family member, and you don’t kick out a family member when they don’t have a job.”

In addition to his work as a trainer, Berloni is also the behavior consultant for the Humane Society of New York, a no-kill shelter that supports rescued animals in New York City.

“It’s a way to give back in a real way,” Berloni said of his work with the humane society. “People shy away from rescue dogs, but they shouldn’t. They can be trained to be so productive. I think we all want to figure out how we can make the world a better place. This allows me to be an entertainer with a purpose.”

He’ll be putting his skills to use again next winter with the culmination of a project that has been in works for the last 13 years — bringing Kate DiCamillo’s beloved children’s novel “Because of Winn Dixie” to the stage for its world premiere at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

He and his wife, Dorothy, “on a whim,” secured the theatrical rights to the book.

“It’s a story about the human and the animal bond,” he said. The star? Taran, an Irish wolfhound, has been cast in the title role and trained by Berloni.

“Before ‘Annie,’ no dog played a main character, because no one thought you could rely on a dog,” said Berloni. “It has been a dream of ours to use this medium to educate and to talk about our message.”

Performances of the North Shore Music Theatre’s “The Wizard of Oz” are July 16 to Aug. 4, Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., matinees Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. There has been a 2 p.m. matinee added on Thursday, July 25; Thursday, Aug. 1; Saturday, Aug. 3, and Sunday, Aug. 4. One evening performance has been added on Thursday, Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Kids 18 and under save 50 percent on Family Friday, July 19. Tickets are $45 to $75.

Page 3 of 3 - Meet the Theatre: Post-show audience discussion with the artists on July 23 after the 7:30 p.m. performance and July 27 after the 2 p.m. performance; OUT at the North Shore, an evening for the Gay and Lesbian Community with a post-show reception (sponsored in part by Ryan & Wood Inc. Distilleries and Sparkling Soirées) on July 25 after the 7:30 p.m. performance.